A trip to Uzbekistan is a journey through history, through a country with a clear and evident Soviet past, which keeps, in the meantime, its festivals and traditions alive.
A journey that leaves strong marks, in the contrasts that I was able to grasp above all in the people I met along my way, but also in the architecture and urban spaces.
Huge streets with severe Soviet-style buildings, mostly deserted, people with dark eyes,
bewildered, immobile, just as the atmosphere is still.
Everything seems suspended, people smaller, almost insignificant compared to the space that surrounds them.
In the villages everything is different, it seems like Life suddenly begins to live again, and their identities to express themselves.
Talking to the locals is a pleasure, they welcomed me as one of them during the Navrouz, the spring welcome party, where everyone is celebrating with good clothes, ready to participate in the Kupkari, the traditional typical competition.
Simona Ottolenghi
Architect, photographer and tour leader.
A tireless traveler, I found a way to combine all my passions and transform them into my work by teaching photography on the go, and not in boring classes.
Architectural studies were fundamental and helped me to have a strong sense of balance,
harmony and space management that I try to convey in my shots as well.
When I travel I try to be mentally free, not conditioned by what I know and what I have studied in the places I visit.
The emotional side is fundamental, I need to feel the places, feel inside without judgments and prejudices.
Only when I can truly empathize with places and people, then the shot comes by itself and
conveys exactly what I feel in that moment.
This for me is the purpose of the trip. And photography.
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